Insomnia
by TStabler
Summary: Olivia Benson is struggling with a bout of insomnia, and the only person who can help her get any sleep is the same person who's keeping her awake. Elliot Stabler. E/O One-Word-One-Shot.


**A/N: The word for this one, given to me from my friend Becca was "Insomnia." Here goes nothin'. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters. TStabler© owns everything else. Italicized line quoted from SVU S1. **

Sleep never came easy for Olivia Benson, but for the past five nights, it wasn't coming at all. She was tossing and turning, over-thinking, and it was all his fault. She closed her eyes, but all she heard and saw was the memory playing in her mind

_"It's a place where couples meet,"_ Elliot had said. _"Ya know, kids, teens," _and he paused, turned his head and gave her one of his classic smirks. _"Co-workers," _he said with a suggestive look in his eyes.

This is what was keeping her up. This is why she hadn't been able to sleep for the last week. Because after months of fantasizing about him, wondering if her ever thought about her as more than just a partner, she finally got a real vibe from him. When their eyes locked, and the words rolled off of his tongue, it made her want to bring him to that spot and make him hers. In every possible way.

But then again, he could have just been flirting, kidding the way they always did. Maybe he didn't mean anything by it. Not anything serious, anyway.

The alarm buzzed beside her head and she groaned. It was another full night spent staring at her ceiling and trying to get the mental images of her partner, naked, out of her head. She shook the thoughts away, took a quick and very cold shower, then dressed and left for work.

She took the six block walk to the police station. The whole time, though, she was seeing things. Seeing him. She knew he wasn't there. "Shit," she spat to herself, rubbing her eyes. "Hallucinations," she mumbled. She stopped at a cart and paid for a large cup of black coffee, hoping to ward off the dangerous side-effects of sleep deprivation. In her line of work, she needed to be active, alert, quick to react. She needed to get a fucking grip.

She walked into the station and took the stairs, afraid that standing still in the elevator would make her tired. She stepped into the squadroom of the Special Victim's Unit and yawned as she plopped into her chair, not noticing the odd look she was getting from her partner.

"Liv," Elliot said to her, tilting his head. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice laced with an unusual amount of concern.

"Yeah," Olivia said, nodding and yawning. "Why?" she asked, not looking up at him.

Elliot cleared his throat. "You don't look so good," he said. "Pale, dark circles under your eyes. Are you, uh, are you having trouble sleeping?"

"Is it that obvious?" Olivia asked, yawning yet again.

"Well, uh, you've been acting funny, too," Elliot told her, leaning over their joined desks with caution. He hated making her angry. "I mean, usually we fight a bit, but lately...it's like you don't even want to look at me. You're irritable, and you're short-temp..."

"I don't," Olivia said. Her reaction time was slow; she meant to say that sooner. He looked at her funny. "I don't even wanna look at you," she whispered, her eyes closing.

Elliot looked at her, hurt and shocked. "What...what did I do?" he asked.

Olivia yawned, sighed, and said, "It's nothing you did, El. It's me. Trust me. You were right, I'm having trouble sleeping. I haven't slept in days."

Elliot said nothing. He simply got out of his seat and walked over to the captain's office door. He knocked, walked in, and closed the door behind him.

Olivia, watching, shook her head. She yawned again and looked down at a file in her hands. The type was blurry; it was impossible to focus. "Damn it," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Come on, Benson," she said to herself. "Get over it and wake up."

"Come on, Benson," another voice told her.

Olivia popped her head up. "Huh?" she questioned.

Elliot, standing beside her, said, "I said, come on. We're leaving. I told Cragen you felt like shit. I'm taking you home."

Olivia shook her head. "No, El, you really don't have to..."

"Don't argue with me," Elliot told her, pulling her to her feet. "I need you to be fast, strong, and back to normal before I can work with you. I need my partner back. I'm taking you home, and getting you in bed."

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. "Are you now, Stabler?" she asked. "You think you can handle it?" she quipped.

"Liv," Elliot said, chuckling and rolling his eyes, "Even half-asleep, you still got that sense of humor."

Olivia looked away from him. She wasn't kidding. "Yeah," she said with a sigh. "This is really funny," she said as she yawned.

Elliot brought her to his car, got her into it, and got in the driver's seat. He started the car, looked over at her, and as he drove he asked, "What's on your mind?"

Olivia scoffed. "Nothing," she said.

"Liv, don't lie to me. Okay? You've got something plaguing that pretty head of yours, and you're letting it get to you, and it's keeping you awake," Elliot said. "The only way to move passed it and get some sleep is to get the thoughts out of your head. You can do that by talking to me," he told her.

Olivia yawned and shook her head. "You don't wanna hear it," she said.

"I'll make you a deal," Elliot said, turning down her street. "You tell me what's been keeping you awake, and I'll tell you what's been keeping me awake."

Olivia looked at him quizzically. "Stabler, you look like you got your eight hours, so come off it," she said, rolling her eyes. She yawned again as the car stopped.

Elliot turned the car off and said, "I didn't sleep at all, actually. I only look awake and happy because I decided to do something about why I'm not sleeping. How do you think I knew you were having trouble? I recognized the signs." He got out, walked around to open her door, and held out his hand.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him, then sighed and took his hand. She let him pull her out of the car and was surprised when he didn't drop her hand as they walked into the building. She pulled her hand out of his, because she was too woozy and uninhibited to stop herself from reacting too strongly to his touch.

Elliot was, again, hurt by her actions. "So what's the problem?" he whispered as he stood next to her in the elevator.

"I'm tired," Olivia said, her head falling back against the wood.

Elliot nodded. "I know that, Liv, I..."

"I'm so tired of pretending, and fighting it," Olivia interrupted. The doors opened, her head popped up, and she stepped off the lift toward her door.

Elliot caught up to her and watched her struggle to open the door. He pulled out his key to her place, she gave it to him for emergencies, and swatter her confused hands out of the way. He opened it for her and asked, "Fighting what? Pretending? What are you..."

Whether it was her exhaustion or her courage, she couldn't be sure, but she stopped his words with her lips. A kiss. A soft, delicate, mouth-only-half-opened kiss. She pulled away, looked into his eyes, and realized what she'd done. She looked away from him and said, "I'm sorry." She turned her back to him and headed for her bedroom.

Elliot, shocked, let the grin spread slowly across his face. He followed her into her bedroom, seeing her curled up on the bed. "Sorry? Why the hell are you sorry?" he asked as he threw off his jacket. He took a chance, getting onto, and into, the bed with her.

Olivia moaned as her head rolled to face him. "Just go, Elliot. You don't need to try to make this easier for me. Okay? I know I just made a huge mistake. I need you to blame the fact that...I'm just really tired," she said.

"You kissed me," Elliot told her. "Did that, uh, did that have anything to do with why you can't sleep?"

Olivia, rolled her eyes. "This is humiliating," she mumbled. "Yeah, it did. I have been lying awake, all night, for the past week because I can't stop thinking about you. Ever since you said..."

"I know what I said," Elliot told her, interrupting as he flattened out beside her and stared into her eyes. "I said it for a reason, Liv."

Olivia lifted her head slightly, feeling more awake than she had in days. "What? she asked. "What reason?" she questioned.

Elliot, lifting a hand to the side of her face, brushing her cheek softly, said, "Because I'm falling hopelessly in love with you, and there's not a damn thing I can do to stop it."

Olivia shut her eyes. "I'm hallucinating again," she whispered.

"No," Elliot laughed. "You're not. I'm really here, and I'm really saying this. I couldn't sleep, either, because I couldn't stop thinking about you. I decided I was gonna tell you. But when you came in today and you looked so...not good," he paused, lightly brushing the pad of his thumb over her lips. "Can I kiss you, Liv?" he asked, changing the subject.

Olivia blinked hard. "Uh, what?" You're...married..." she said, making an excuse to cover her own fear.

"Not for much longer," Elliot told her. "You can't stop thinking about me, you said it yourself. I think you need and want this as much as I do," he said, moving closer to her lips.

"Cocky bastard," Olivia whispered. She gasped lightly as she saw him drawing nearer.

Elliot smirked. "Yeah, I am," he said. His lips brushed against hers softly, lightly, and he whispered, "I love you."

Olivia moaned softly as his lips pressed into hers, and she wasn't sure where she got the energy to lift her hands to his face. The kiss deepened, and she moaned louder, feeling his hands run down her body, tugging lightly on her pants. She mumbled a soft, "What're you doing?"

Elliot slipped his hand into her unzipped pants, finding her ready and wet. He groaned as he pushed the cotton of her panties aside, slid a finger up her slit, and whispered against her lips, "Curing your insomnia."

Olivia moaned his name, low and deep, as she felt him stroking her. She held him closer to her, the kiss growing more passionate. When his fingers dipped into her, she yelped and moaned, "God, Elliot."

"So long," Elliot murmured into their kiss. He pulled away to look at her, loving what he saw staring back. "I've wanted this, wanted you, for months," he told her, adding another finger. "Come on, Liv," he whispered to her. He dropped his head to hers again, kissing her madly, and said, "Liv, baby, don't fight it."

Olivia's head flew back into the pillow, her back arched, she heard Elliot moaning and felt him kissing her neck, and when his thumb brushed over her clit she moaned his name again. He moved his hand faster, harder, his thumb working in harder circles over her clit, and she came, tightening around his fingers and shaking. She cried out his name and her body convulsed as he gently stroked her folds, bringing her down.

Elliot slipped his hand out of her pants, chuckled as he looked her in the eyes, and asked, "Think you can sleep now?"

"Think you can?" Olivia asked, breathless, looking into his eyes.

Elliot pulled her closer, kissed her deeply, and as he pulled back he said, "Yeah. I know I can." He held her close, curling their bodies together, and whispered, "Get some sleep, baby."

Olivia moaned in response as her eyes closed, her body wrapped around the man who'd been keeping her awake. She smiled as she let her eyes drift shut, and when she felt him kiss the top of her head, she knew that this would be the most restful sleep she'd ever had. She also knew that, once they woke up, she would definitley have to repay Elliot for curing her insomnia.

**A/N: That's what I thought of when I heard the word 'Insomnia." Hope it doesn't keep you awake. Any other one-word requests? Eh, what did you think of this one? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


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